Rdio, the 12-million track online music streaming service (think Spotify) has just set up a free "tier" for people to get some of the benefits of a paid account without paying anything. Let me explain why I put the word tier in quotes.

First, the free Rdio will only work in your browser or in the Mac and PC desktop apps. You get the same number of songs, the ability to share your current songs on Facebook and do everything else the $5 a month paid plan can do. The limitation comes with the amount of music you can listen to, and you'll be able to see how much free music is left in your month by a meter at the top of your profile page.

Unfortunately, unlike Spotify, which gives a hard cap of 10 hours a month for their free account, Rdio refuses to disclose any limits. All they would tell me is that Rdio wants people to use this free service not as a free tier, but more as a way to experience everything the service holds without paying first. They said it's "a way to get new users to sign up for the service," more so than a tier for people who don't listen to much music. So think of it as a demo for the real thing, and less like a plan you'll use indefinitely in lieu of paying for the service.

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If you do decide to graduate from free to paid, you have the $5 plan, which gives you unlimited web streaming, or the $10 plan, which includes streaming to smartphones, iPads, Sonos, and Roku devices. You'll also be able to sync tracks to your devices for when you're not connected to the internet.

As a current Rdio user who switched to Spotify, then switched back, I have two main reasons why I enjoy the former more. The first is music discovery, which is much easier on Rdio and doesn't require users to make playlists to allow others to easily follow along with what people like. The second is general UI usability issues, like having a better laid out New Releases section, proper history tracking and player layout. There are a lot of minor reasons, but those are my largest. For the music I listen to, the 3 million less tracks on Rdio vs. Spotify isn't a huge deal, but it very might well be for you, so this free tier will let you get a sense of both services much easier than before.